Monthly Archives: March 2014

Post navigation

Ahh. Breathe. Feel the heart.
As long as you’re embodied, the breath and the beat of the heart will always be with you. At some point you will transcend, but for now, in the body, you’ve most definitely got your breath and the beat of the heart.

Listen.

Feel.

Feel Good.

We can train ourselves to enjoy anything. Observing the breath, just watching it flow in and out of the body without trying to control it, you can begin to admire the awesome of intelligence of the body, the evolved intelligence of nature working through you and in you.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, the body is breathing. The heart is beating. ALL THE TIME! 🙂

These affirmations of life occur moment-to-moment. Just imagine if you train yourself to thoroughly appreciate and enjoy any instance when you bring your awareness to your breath and just notice it flowing. Or enjoy those moments when you bring the palm of the hand and place it over the heart, feeling it beat.

Tune out the world and tune into yourself. Tune into that intelligence. The breath and the heart are the essence of life. This essence flows through all life. Even chickens, grass, and trees. All of life is breathing. All of life has a Heart. Maybe not a physically beating heart like human bodies have, but there is a Heart. Consciousness experiencing.

As far as bliss goes, I think it might rest when we stop desiring anything external. Bliss might be when we turn our gaze inward and more and more connect with That Which is Always With Us. The Breath, the Heart; Consciousness.

Just being is miraculous. Just being is totally awesome. Just being is abundant and reason for immense amounts of gratitude and joy. Just to be…

Breathe and be. Look with wonder upon that which is before you. See the Essence that flows through all Life. Look past the duality and the separation and the illusion and you just might begin to perceive the perfection, the unity, and the goodness.

We may want different physical things or new relationships or knowledge…but will any of that really give us lasting happiness? Lasting happiness only is in that which is in lasting. And what is lasting? Consciousness. The breathe. The Heart.

Free, super abundant, supported by tons of study as well as awesome life experience.

Thinking about why mindfulness and meditation are awesome practices…practicing them helps you realize that happiness and joy and all goodness is with you in the present moment. You don’t need to be watching the TV or shopping or reading your favorite book to experience a deep sense of peace and goodness. That experience you want is yours now. If not now, when?

You are powerful. So powerful, in fact, that your happiness is only conditional upon external conditions if you let it be. At the same time, using your awesome power, you can choose to be unconditionally happy, regardless of external circumstances. You have a kingdom within you. Consciousness is magnificent. It is yours to use as you will. Create your Heaven on Earth.

All this best is free. And right now is the very best! And now is the very best. If you believe it, you’ll see it. Believing is seeing. Heaven or Hell your choice. Perspective is reality. What you focus on you’ll experience. Whatever you give your attention to grows.

Nothing external can bring you lasting happiness. Lasting happiness comes from within. Lasting happiness is of the Here and Now, it is Essence, regardless of the external form, it is with you. Tune into it. Smile 🙂

When you discover the treasures of mindfulness and meditation and Peace Within, your motivations and intentions become purer. Instead of being motivated by accumulating money, you are motivated by rendering loving service, by doing good, by growing and becoming better and better. You are motivated by catalyzing the conscious evolution of mankind. You are motivated by Love.

You realize the Basic Goodness underlying all reality. Happiness is with you. And knowing it is with you always, regardless of the external – the yang – you are abundantly connected with the Kingdom Within – the yin.

Seeking refuge within, storing up your Treasures in Heaven, centering yourself on the yin, you begin to realize the transient nature of the world of form. It changes. Things come and go. Accepting this, you are free. Detached from form, you appreciate what is in the Here and Now while easily letting go and transform into something new.

Movies, books, people all come and go. Conversations come and go. The ways in which you experience the world are always changing. The yang is in flux. What you can count on always is the yin – the Kingdom Within – the Essence that pervades all form and all reality.

Call it what you will, it doesn’t matter. Words go up like smoke! Within all form is a consistency. Even though a banana looks different than an orange, within both the banana and the orange is an Essence that is also in the tree and the computer. It’s in Everything! As a friend shared with me once, “There is nothing else.”

Deepak Chopra talks about One Reality. Eckhart Tolle talks about being One With Life. Oneness. The Essence pervades.

On the path, remember you are always free to stop and breathe. Standing still or sitting can only be good. How many problems stir from impulse decisions and rushed activity? How many times have we all walked by beautiful flowers and abundant life flourishing all around us without even being slightly around of the Essence underlying it all? Without appreciating the Beauty and the Magnificence? Living a life constantly connected with Beauty, Magnificence, and Miracle can be quite challenging and might sound a bit overwhelming…but…maybe it’s worth the effort? Who knows!

What kind of reality do you want to live in? What do you want to experience moment to moment to moment? It’s your choice. Know what you want, focus on it, and be open and willing to change until you receive what you’re seeking. Ask and you shall receive. Always.

…

This morning I read in The Power of Now that there is only one spiritual teaching. What is that teaching? I think…it might be…gratitude. Why? Because of Perfection. As human beings, what more could we ask for than that our every prayer is answered? All of our thoughts co-create reality. We are empowered to create and to change and to grow and to become better and better and trust our generous impulse and embrace challenges and contribute to the greater good and give of our very best! We are so empowered! We can do so much. Consciousness creates. We are consciousness creating.

Lent is the season of empowerment. I found myself saying “Thank you Jesus!” the other night, not for necessarily being the one and only savior of the world, but simply for inspiring the lenten season. During Lent, people give up something. I ‘gave up’ picking my nails. No big deal, right? Actually, renouncing this very small activity for this period of 40 days has so awesomely empowered to do even more good and make more abundant change for good…well it’s inspired a lot of good. Reminding myself that I have the the power to consciously not pick my nails…I am reminded that I can do anything! As I wrote down in my journal, “If you can do one thing, you can do anything.” If I can ‘not pick my nails,’ I can ‘not eat unhealthy foods,’ or to frame it in the positive, I can choose to eat only foods that are nourishing and for the optimization of the body and brain and clarity of consciousness.

We are empowered! One step at a time, moment to moment, day by day, month by month, we can build positive habits, and we can release habits. Not to judge what habits are good or bad, just knowing that if there is anything you want to change, you can. You absolutely can change. You are powerful! We are all powerful!

And if you’re doubting, hesitant or unsure, stop. Breathe. Maybe smile. Just be in the moment. Maybe be grateful for something. Whether you’re grateful for family, friends, teachings, the body, the mind, the universe, the sky, the trees, water, food, shelter, clothes, time, space, learning, growing, evolution, abundance, creativity, humor, laughter, health, happiness, freedom, love, peace within, music…whatever it is!…so much to be grateful for. And ultimately, the gratitude can be for the Perfection. Knowing that it’s all for Good, that it is all The Very Best, that What Is is Perfect, perfectly imperfect if you like, you can feel an abundance an gratitude in the heart. And gratitude only attracts more abundance to be even more grateful for. So go ahead and cultivate a grateful heart.

You can also be grateful for the abundantly wonderful and free teachings of Steve Pavlina. Bringing Truth, Love, Power, and Happiness to people by sharing abundant ideas and a wealth of knowledge inclined towards catalyzing personal growth and evolution…higher consciousness…what could be better?

Higher Consciousness and Happiness for everyone…there’s an idea. How do you do it though? Each moment is an opportunity. Enjoy 🙂

Freedom is complete detachment. If you consider that a slave wears shackles, so too anything that shackles you enslaves you.

Recently, I’ve been enslaved by this desire to delete eBooks, audio clips, and videos that I may have obtained illegally, while also desiring to listen and learn from these same things. The tension between the two irks me from time to time, and thankfully I just resolved the issue.

Officially, for the first time in maybe 6 years – as far as I’m aware – there’s not a single piece of stolen ‘intellectual property’ on this computer or in ‘my’ possession. So, I must say this feels pretty good.

The process of deleting all the files also helped me gain a lot of clarity and come to terms with reality.

A few of the files I had the most trouble deleting were audio files that offered lots of an abundance of knowledge regarding meditation, the present moment, and higher consciousness / enlightenment. However, even these files were relatively easy for me to let go of, because I realized that ultimately expertise in meditation or achieving an awesome consciousness of Presence or Enlightenment is something realized through practice and effort. Practice and effort can come in the form of studying via books and audio clips, but it’s primarily something you live out moment to moment to moment. So to think I’d achieve expertise in meditation or a state of enlightenment through reading is somewhat silly. Ultimately, I think books can be great teachers. Yet the true test of learning ultimately comes down to how it changes the way you live your life, moment to moment to moment. And really, I feel like in so many ways I’ve had that awesome peak experiences of enlightenment / oneness on several occasions, so to deny it would be silly. More over, to think I need more books or information to live in that state on a more consistent basis is also silly. If I experienced such a state without certain books, why would they be necessary to achieve the state again?

I had the pleasure of sitting in on a class on existential counselling the other day, and the professor shared some awesome ideas about venturing beyond your comfort zone and being in the moment. He said that we sometimes might have a tendency to devour life, when really so much joy and peace and freedom can be found when instead of devouring life, we choose to savor life. Savoring is the key. And what more is savoring than going slowly? It’s appreciating what you have. It’s being in the Here and Now.

Listen to the birds. Feel your lips curl upward you smile . Flash your eyebrows at the beauty before you. To experience happiness and peace and joy and the very best life has to offer, we don’t need anything. All the necessities are before us, beyond us and within us, in this present moment. Enlightenment and Peace and Happiness are not states to achieve in the distant future; they are qualities of our consciousness that we can experience now. The time is always now, especially regarding your Peace and Happiness 🙂

Thinking about questing through life, it seems like many of us move through the world on a quest for more, on a quest for what’s best for us, for that perfect something that will make our lives complete. Really, that perfect something is not out there, and you don’t have to quest for it. Questing for it almost moves you away from it. As I read in a de Mello book, “Seek and you shall miss.” Instead of seeking, let it be.

When you tune into being, right here, right now, that’s golden. No books required.

This is not to say to never read a book again. Rather, you can continue the wonderful journey of lifelong learning and growth knowing that you are perfect as you are now. You need nothing more for happiness and joy. So then, why keep reading and learning and trying new things and seeking new experiences? Well, from a consciousness of Joy and Happiness, why not do whatever you want to do? The key is to prioritize your Happiness in the Here and Now, and let be from there.

All activities can be filled with Joy. The external conditions don’t matter so much as your perception. As Eckhart Tolle mentions in the Power of Now, instead of changing your What, try changing your How. Bring lightness and ease to how you are doing whatever it is you are doing. To think, “I have to do something other than this,” is enslaving yourself. You can always free yourself by accepting the present moment as it is and moving into a state of joy, perhaps catalyzed by bring a smile to the face and raising your hands over your head and saying, “Thank you!” Why not be thankful? You can always fake it until you make it. Or, as I heard on a TEDTalk, fake it until you become it.

Meanwhile, why keep learning? Why keep writing or doing anything if the Happiness and Peace and Joy and Infinite Goodness is Here and Now, Always and Forever? Why not just let go and bliss out 24 / 7?

From that state of Happiness and Peace, remember that you can serve and you can give and contribute. And in those acts is even more joy! An abundance of joy lies in generosity and in giving. Also, consider, that in so much as you may have found Happiness in the Eternal Present Moment, Your God, some people might still be searching. So, by your moving and being in the world, connected with that Joy, you can share the Gift and awaken people to the Kingdom. Why not?

In a way, act selfishly. That is, prioritize the quality of your consciousness in the present moment. Let it be filled with Peace and Joy. What could be more selfish? And then, beautifully, this seemingly selfish act balances perfectly with the selfless service you can then render from a consciousness of Joy.

We can only give what we have, and what more do people want than Joy? Than Peace? Than Freedom? So by you working on yourself to have that Joy, you can then give it to people. You can share the abundance! You connect with the Great Gift, and then you share that Gift with your Being. No physical exchange of form required. Just being joyous brings joy. Liberating yourself liberates those around you.

When you listen to the birds and delight in the birds, you tacitly grant permission for all to enjoy the song of nature. (Woohoo 111 :-)).

Remember always, there are an abundance of ways to serve. Every moment offers a different opportunity. And, basically, no matter what you choose to do, it’s all good.

In a recent article of his, he looks back on some of his accomplishments and also looks forward to some more things he’d like to do while here on earth. Essentially, he made a bucket list. And, best part is, he posted the bucket list for everyone to see! http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2014/03/lets-go-skydiving/

As you might have guessed from the words in the link, one thing on his bucket list is to go skydiving. Another, interestingly enough, is to be homeless and live on the streets for a month. Being homeless for a month is also something on my bucket list, so perhaps we’ll get to embark on that journey together – who knows!

The point is, whatever it is you want in life, it’s best to feel really good about wanting it. If you want something but are doubting yourself whether or not you deserve it or are worthy of it or if it’s actually a good thing…if you have any reservations about your desires…then you’re only holding yourself back. You know your desires and wants and bucket list is really good when you’re confident and comfortable enough with your desires to broadcast them to all the world.

And, a couple years back, synchronistically enough, Pavlina wrote an article titled “Broadcast Your Desires” on my birthday 😉 It’s a good one!

So the question is…what do you desire? What do you want most from life? Are you comfortable enough with your desires to broadcast them to the world?

Here are a few activities that are on my bucket list, and if you’re interested in going on any of these adventures with me, please let me know. Maybe we can co-create some awesome experiences 🙂

Without further adieu…some things I’d definitely like to do while gifted with consciousness here on planet abundant earth:

1. 30 Day Challenge: homeless, living on the streets. When you don’t “have a home,” maybe you realize the whole world is your home…who knows!

2. 30 Day Challenge: eating only fruits and seeds and nuts, predominantly, basically a banana and hemp seed experience. I think hemp is a superfood that can definitely be part of a healthier, sustainable future for humanity and the planet, so it’s probably worth it to bear living testimony to how wonderfully abundant you can feel enjoying them as the staple to your food preferences.

3. 30 Day Challenge: meditate from 4-6 every morning. I hear those are auspicious hours! And two hours of meditation seems like a totally abundant way to start the day. Word on the street is Deepak Chopra starts his days with two hours of meditation, and he seems to do pretty well for himself and for the Greater Good…why not you and me?

4. Write a book that adequately recounts some awesome life experiences I’ve had regarding blindness, fasting, homelessness, living without money, laughing, crying, going with the flow, synchronicities, being grateful. Particularly the 7 days of homelessness in NYC was a profoundly transformative experience and I feel like it’s my responsibility to share that story in an effective way as best I can…so that more people can be liberated from material desires and realize the spiritual nature of reality. Also, I’d like to liberating myself from the desire to tell the story as well 😉

5. Create an audio / podcast library that can freely be listened to help people become more conscious and aware, growing their lives in the direction of greater health, happiness, freedom, and peace.

8. Meditate with a group of people sitting a circle, all holding hands. Yea, hand holding is sweet!

9. Meditate with 555 people on the WFU upper quad on April 22, 2014. Yep…this one’s a pretty firmly established goal. Of course, not even sure if 555 people can fit on the upper quad, but essentially the idea is to fill the quad!

10. Write a treatise on my college experience that serves to help college students discover themselves and choose to live with compassion.

11. Be part of a mastermind alliance with at least one other person that communicates weekly to discuss the Summon Bonum, the Highest Good of All :-), and goals, dreams, visions, Enlightenment, growth, evolution, self-actualization, self-education, self-knowledge, life stories, humor…ha!…all that good, abundant stuff!

12. 30 Day Challenge: silence!!! Just listening 🙂

13. 30 Day Challenge: silence…except for Om. Or maybe only singing / chanting. As Nietzsche describes the Superman…something like, “Forget talking. Sing only! Forget walking, dance! And laugh, abundantly.” Not sure if he used the word abundantly, but essentially 30 days of only singing, laughing, and dancing…that sounds like one heck-of-a reality. 🙂 Heaven???

14. Give away all material possessions! This one can be done right now…but ahh perhaps the time is not now. LOL wait…the time is definitely now! Alas, perhaps I’m still a bit attached. Like AA, I guess the first step is acknowledging and admitting I am attached! Anyway, giving everything away would be an awesome restart, and especially considering the value of education and the mind, or as Jesus says “the Treasures in Heaven,” I think I’d be pretty darn okay without anything physical.

15. Walk across the country. Anyone want to join? Part of me also wants to do this without any money or possessions…essentially making it a gigantic faith walk to provide some abundant testimony to the unconditional support and love of God, Reality, the Universe, What Is 🙂 Trust!

17. Sit in for Full Lotus for 1 / 3 / 9 hours. Who knows what might happen if you just sit there. In this ‘hectic’ world of constant activity, why does it seem so difficult to just sit and be? Being is awesome!

18. OM for 3 consecutive hours. OM OM OM! This one should be easy enough…perhaps I’ll accomplish it this week!

19. Go on a speaking tour about the contents of aforementioned book and awesome adventures of the Street Retreat and the ability we all have to courageously and consciously grow and become better and better each day, exploring and co-creating a wonderful world, realizing that we are unconditionally safe, unconditionally supported, and unconditionally loved. Therefore, it only makes sense to live freely and fearlessly 🙂

20. Have…ah the word ‘have’…haha that’s a funny one…already I feel a bit hesitant about this desire…overall though I feel it is for the Summum Bonum. Have! a space (office?) at Wake Forest where I can receive students to teach meditation, yoga, share personal growth ideas, providing counselling and spiritual/life advising, as well as listening. Additionally, I’d like to be able to live in this space, just sleeping on the floor with a big box of hemp seeds and maybe a few books next to me. 🙂 ‘My’ title could be something like Meditation Teacher / Personal Growth ‘Expert’ (yikes there goes the humility ;-)) / Life Coach / Spiritual Adviser / Yogi.

21. Memorize 100 / 300 / 500 / 1000 stories / poems / fables / proverbs / quotes / tales that can be shared with people to raise consciousness and awareness and inspire enlightened activity. Guess I should probably start! I think my current ‘memorized verses’ count is currently around 20…including quotes though it may be up to 50 or 100…guess there’s a ways to go! So long as remembering happiness is in the journey and not the destination, this seems like a worthy endeavor. (Ahh yes! saw 222 while wriitng that last sentence 🙂 Truth will set you free!!!)

22. Write a Spiritual / Higher Consciousness Dictionary. If you’ve spent any time around me, you’re almost guaranteed to hear the words Hallelujah, Abundance, and so grateful several times during our time together. You might say I abuse the sh*t out of those words, but I think they’re some of the most powerful words in the world, and if we all just live a little bit more in a context of gratitude and abundance and Hallelujah then we’ll become more conscious of how things just keep getting better and better. We might even realize that everything is, indeed, perfect 😉

23. Read the Quran, Bible, Upanishads, Sutras, Vedas, and other prominent religous texts. Perhaps this ‘bucket list’ desire is more of a desire for ‘cultural and religious understanding of the ways of the people throughout the world.’ Considering that many people allow their religious beliefs to govern their lives, in some ways I think we all have a responsibility to study and understand the world’s major religions so that we can connect with people and move towards unity and oneness. Of course, I say this but meanwhile have not been reading too many spiritual texts recently (at least as far as primary sources go. Recently been more of a ‘secondary source’ Eckhart Tolle / David Hawkins / Deepak Chopra reader.)

24. Run a marathon? Ha no! Thank you Reality for helping me overcome silly desires like that. Although certainly for some people that’s an awesome desire. I would like, however, to walk 10,000 steps a day for 30 or 60 or 90 days in a row to test it out. Research suggests 10,000 steps a day is a key to abundant health and happiness 🙂 Every step you take, you’re getting happier and happier!

25. Speaking of physical goals…I’ve recently been contemplating the ideal physical form for the body. Part of me is inclined towards the Gandhi-esque way of intense skinniness and lightness. It seemed to work pretty well for him at least. So perhaps I’d like to try and 30 or 90 day experiment of living at a weight of 140 lbs (currently around 160). Really though, this experiment / desire seems like the more central focus is on how much food I’d be consuming. And, considering I heard once from a neuroscientist that some studies suggest optimal brain functioning might occur with a food intake of around 1000-1500 calories, I guess more accurately I’d like to try living for 30 days while only consuming 1500 calories. (Ha, as soon as I wrote that the tummy growled a bit. The body seems to know what’s up!) Aye, train those taste buds 😉

26. Facilitate a men’s group that talks about all matters of life, as well as discusses the tricky topic of women. Basically, I’d like to offer instruction regarding attracting a mate and communicating effectively with women. For me personally, life kind-of-sucked before I studied communication and winning friends and talking with women. This group would have a dual focus on communicating with people/women and also personal growth. Love me some personal growth conscious conversations 🙂

27. Hug someone for an hour. Why not? Perhaps I could start with hugging a tree for an hour…

28. Co-teach a class at WFU on eastern and western story, including Aesop and Zen and whatever else. This class would likely also include an abundance of teachings on meditation, self-knowledge, and mindfulness (Woohoo saw 777 while writing this sentence…miracles abound!)

29. Ensure that WFU offers a hatha yoga class every day of the week. Potentially, it’d be awesome to offer a 7 AM class 5 days a week followed by a 30 minute meditation. Imagine what kind of community that would create….ahhhh abundance!!!

30. “See the Self in All and All in Me.” A line from the Bhagavad Gita. Whatever it means, I’d like to experience that for at least 30 days, if not a lifetime. Essentially, living in a state of Cosmic Consciousness, which I’m fairly confident I’ve had glimpses of before. It’s kinda like…bliss 🙂

31. Teach Laughter Yoga at WFU. If Laughter Yoga isn’t one of the most liberating activities in the world, I don’t know what it is. The first time I was in a Laughter Yoga class, ahhh soo liberating! To think, you’re always free to laugh. Even to laugh at seemingly nothing. And is laughter not one of the most joyous expressions we’re capable of? A friend told me the other day, “Laughter is religion.” Still not exactly sure what to make of his words, but I like them. Laugh it up, freely and fearlessly!

32. Be able to make myself sweat via meditation (Burning Meditation). This is a bit of a ridiculous desire, but I feel like it could actually serve a very practical purpose, especially in cold weather!

33. Know the Truth. Shine in the Light of Truth. Serve the Highest Good of All! Hehe. Is that specific enough?

34. Flow like Water. This is kind of a moment-to-moment way of being. To make this desire more tangible, perhaps I’ll say…30 day challenge of prioritizing ‘flowing like water,’ not operating from an agenda but just letting go and letting flow.

35. Meet Thich Nhat Hanh. What a legend. “Breathe, smile, and go slowly,” might really be all we need to know. Of course, who has the courage to actually put it to the test?

36. 30 Day Challenge: focus and guiding principle for living is “Breathe, smile, and go slowly.” See how it goes. This desire may be the same as the desire to only walk mindfully, slowly, for 30 days in a row. Peace is every step!

38. At WFU, weekly offer a chanting / kirtan session. Love to chant with some people! Chanting, like Laughter Yoga, is uber-liberating 🙂

39. 90 Day Challenge: live in a prison and teach yoga and meditation every morning, as well as offer instruction in mindfulness and counselling / spiritual advising throughout the day. Maybe in such a setting would be a good opportunity to write a book on the side? (Woohoo another 222 sighting :-)) And I was thinking…great opportunity to teach the Law of Attraction / The Secret, which is one of the reasons why I think meditation is so important. Our thoughts create reality, suggest the Secret, so by training the mind to focus via meditation, you can then more fully harness your magnificent power to manifest and create whatever you desire, what you might call your Heaven on Earth 🙂 And ultimately, I think our deepest desires are independent of the external form of the world and are desires of a quality of our consciousness, something we experience each and every moment. So imagine, having trained the mind, you can focus on what you want most – that quality of consciousness – and manifest it, internally, instantly. All human beings are significant and each mind is powerful and to help to train minds to focus on the good and co-create a more compassionate world, a world filled with loving kindness…well that sound pretty awesome to me 🙂

40. Live in a state of Unity and Oneness with everyone and everything. Eh, too vague? Well I guess this is a bit of ‘my desire’ for that quality of consciousness I mentioned above. Also, to lovingly accept and unconditionally love everyone and everything, that’d be cool 🙂

Yesterday I was given the opportunity to ask someone a question, any question I could possible want to ask, and the mind was blank. There was no question. And that was okay, nothing wrong with not asking someone a question, but especially considering this person was a guest visiting his girlfriend in class for the day and I had never met him before, you’d think only a hint of curiosity and appreciation for this human being would stir some question.

Reflecting back on the blankness and dearth of curiosity, I was a bit disappointed. If I was in a more reverential state, appreciating the present moment and the abundance of flourishing life , especially the awesomeness of human life, surely I’d have an abundance of questions to ask this fellow citizen of planet earth. Especially if in the perspective of acknowledging each individual as a child of God, how could I not want to ask a question?

Alas, there was no question. After a few seconds of semi-awkward silence (only awkward if you let it be ;-)) a classmate jokingly asked, “So…how’d you two meet?” Laughter ensued. Ah, the beautiful sound of laughter. The boyfriend then facilitated a bit more abundance of joy as he replied, “Well you see this one time I was on the moon…”

I found his moon joke to be just about the funniest reply ever. And that helped me realize that there’s always an opportunity for humor, always a time for laughter. Nothing is so serious that we cannot laugh.

Anyway…fast-forward 6 hours…reflecting last night…I realized it makes sense to be aware of questions that you’d be sincerely interested in knowing the answer to. That is, questions to ask people you just meet! And not necessarily questions like, “Where are you from?” “How old are you?” but maybe some questions that stimulate deeper thought and higher consciousness.

And without further adieu , one of the best questions I’ve come up with that I’d like to hear the answer from pretty much anyone, is…”What’s your motto for life?”

And also, I’ll throw in a feeling of being at home wherever I am – home in the Present Moment. And a sense of unconditional love, unconditional safety, and unconditional support. A sense of being connected and ultimately one with everyone and everything! Living in a compassionate, conscious, and caring world, where we live with each other as members of one, universal, family – identifying with each other as children of the Divine! (If not the Divine Itself…who knows? ;-))

And…thinking about the question a bit more…I’d like a sense of clarity and vision to grow in my life, so that I see and understand more fully how my work and day-to-day activities are contributing to the Greater Good.

But enough about me! Unless me is you and we are one, then maybe let’s keep talking 😉

What do you want to grow in your life?

What you give your attention to grows. Focus on it. Let it grow. Blossom.

Really, this is just happening because things are better in threes. And, of course, I’ve discovered a bit more about this tri-fecta of words.

Hallelujah expands your awareness to all past, present, and future. With an awareness drawn to the glory of God, you connect with the totality of everyone and everything. It’s huge, it’s amazing, it’s wondrous and who the heck knows what it’s all about or how it happened or why. One things for sure: it’s cool. Thinking about the origins of the universe, even the story of your life that brings you to this present moment can be a wonderful journey through experience and knowledge and history and understanding of What Is. Maybe you don’t remember what you ate for breakfast three weeks ago, but it happened, right? And it all adds up. It all brings you here and now. If you had another breakfast that day, perhaps you’d be sleeping right now, or perhaps it would have poisoned you and your body would be in a grave and maybe you’d be in a spirit form just laughing about the writing of this post. Who knows! Either way, miracles abound. At least, they look like miracles from our smaller-self perspectives, but seen from the Higher Perspective, we can more easily understanding that God is God and whether you call it a miracle or Divine or Awesome, extraordinary or ordinary, it’s all just What Is. Whose to say miracle or not?

Listen. Listening brings you into the Present. Listening isn’t about the past or the future – it’s about the Now. The Here! Present Moment, Wonderful Moment. Sounds everywhere. If you listened closely enough, perhaps with some godlike/doglike ears, you could even hear the wall next to you. Because everything is moving and making a sound, however loud or soft it may sound to us. Sound is that constant affirmation of life and consciousness and flow in the universe. Listen to it. You can imagine the sound you’re hearing the Love revealing itself, or that it is the universe consciously evolving, or that it is God working in so many ways to more fully reveal Heaven on Earth. Whatever it is, sound always Is. There is always something to listen, and can always tune you into the Here and Now, freeing from the past and the future. Of course, past and future in the context of “Hallelujah!” is pretty awesome, so it’s not like we always have to be freed 🙂 Just if we are dwelling the past or fearing the future, that’s when listening to the Present can help us connect with reality and get outside of the monkey mind.

Relax. Not only does relaxing bring into the present moment and help you connect with the goodness that is Here and Now, but it also relates to the state of embodiment in human form. Relaxing involves bring your conscious awareness to the physicality of the body and connecting with the form and energy of it in the Present Moment. Eckhart Tolle writes a lot about the inner-body, and how when your awareness is grounded in the inner-body, it is much easier to maintain a sense of peace and tranquility. Keeping some of your awareness in the body helps you retain control over the flux of the external world. Things can be changing and moving and grooving all around you, yet when you keep a bit of awareness in your hands or feet or lips or ears, just feeling them and noticing that they are where they are, you protect yourself from the monkey mind and any flotsam and jetsam that may be coming your way.

Hallelujah! Tune into the grandness of Life and the Universe and All That Is.
Listen. Tune into the flourishing and thriving and flowing around you.
Relax. Tune into the reality of the body. For now, you’re in one. Might as well accept it how it is and feel good in it 🙂